India Orders Phone Makers to Pre-Install Sanchar Saathi App to Tackle Telecom Fraud

"India's telecommunications ministry has reportedly asked major mobile device manufacturers to preload a government-backed cybersecurity app named Sanchar Saathi on all new phones within 90 days. According to a report from Reuters, the app cannot be deleted or disabled from users' devices. Sanchar Saathi, available on the web and via mobile apps for Android and iOS, allows users to report suspected fraud, spam, and malicious web links through call, SMS, or WhatsApp; block stolen handsets; and allow a mobile subscriber to check the number of mobile connections taken in their name."

""Such international calls are received by illegal telecom setups over the internet from foreign countries and sent to Indian citizens disguised as domestic calls," the government notes on the website. "Reporting about such calls helps the Government to act against illegal telecom exchanges which are causing financial loss to the Government's exchequer and posing a threat to national security." The Android and iOS apps have been collectively installed over 11.4 million times, with a majority of the installations from the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra."

India's telecommunications ministry has instructed major device manufacturers to preload a government cybersecurity app named Sanchar Saathi on all new phones within 90 days. The app cannot be deleted or disabled on users' devices. Sanchar Saathi enables reporting of suspected fraud, spam, and malicious links via call, SMS, or WhatsApp; blocking and tracing of stolen handsets; and checking the number of mobile connections registered in a subscriber's name. The service can report incoming international calls using the +91 prefix to identify spoofed domestic calls. Since May 2023 the apps have 11.4 million installs, blocked 4.2 million lost devices, traced 2.6 million, and recovered about 723,638 devices. A November 28, 2025 directive requires pushing the app via software updates to devices already in the supply chain to address threats including spoofed IMEI numbers.

Read at The Hacker News